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Ryan O'Donovan at GetWestLondon
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Huddersfield Town (1) 1-4 (1) Fulham
Two goals from Stefan Johansen and further goals from Tom Cairney and Scott Malone helped Fulham put on a show as they battered Huddersfield 4-1 at the John Smith's Stadium.
Slavisa Jokanovic chose the same team that brushed aside Aston Villa on Easter Monday, with Ryan Sessegnon keeping his place in the side after bagging his seventh goal of the season in the win.
Huddersfield had a ferocious start and got themselves ahead within five minutes when Floyd Ayite tripped Chris Lowe as he charged into the box - the man who was fouled stepped up and slotted the ball into the right corner despite Marcus Bettinelli guessing correctly.
But Fulham got level when some lovely intricate football on the edge of the area saw Malone break free and behind his man before he slotted the ball into the bottom corner with just under 20 minutes played.
It was only minutes later than Fulham were ahead when Ayite was fouled in the box by Jonathan Hogg - Cairney stepped up to take the penalty and coolly slotted it home to give the away side a 2-1 lead.
Johansen made it three after 35 minutes when Aluko roasted two Huddersfield men with one swift dragback of his foot, with Sessegnon's shot rebounding to Johansen who slotted the ball into the same corner as Malone.
The Norwegian got his second and Fulham's fourth when he nicked the ball off Hogg at the back and slotted it past Ward to send the travelling fans into dreamland.
The second half was a lot quieter, but Sessegnon should've made it five when Cairney played him through one on one, but the youngster hit the ball right at Ward.
Here's what we learned from the win in Huddersfield.
Jokanovic has the upper hand on Wagner
A 9-1 aggregate scoreline from the two Huddersfield games this season speaks volumes.
First Fulham beat them 5-0 at the Cottage in October and now they've beaten them 4-1 in Huddersfield, the first side in the Championship to put four past Town in their own stadium this season.
For the first ten minutes, Wagner's pressing game caused Fulham some serious problems and it was looking as though they would struggle to compete with Huddersfield.
But Jokanovic saw this and changed things, allowing Cairney to sit in deeper so that when the press came he, Kevin McDonald and Johansen could pick the space on the wings that was left.
Fulham never looked back once they equalised and I'm sure Wagner won't want to face Fulham again if they make it to the play-offs.
The Norwegian has been in sensational form the past couple of weeks, something that has seen the midfielder rise to the top of the scoring charts with 13 goals to his name.
It's not only his goals that have helped the side, however, he is as good going forward as he is in defence which was proved when his perfectly timed sliding challenge against Villa set the side on their way to their first goal.
It's no fluke that Fulham's form has coincided with Johansen's - he is an integral cog in the machine and it was extremely worrying to see him hobble off towards the end of the game, but he looks like he'll be okay for the Brentford match.
If he can continue this form until the end of the season, Fulham really could go all the way.
Believe it or not, we did discover that Fulham can see games out, despite the 4-1 scoreline.
Hear me out, alright?
The first half was goals galore from the Cottagers, but the second 45 was a 0-0 battle where Fulham saw the game out thanks to some astute defending from Tomas Kalas and Tim Ream, while Ryan Sessegnon should've put his chance away to make it five.
If they get to the play-offs, they will need to see at least one of the games out and this victory will have shown Jokanovic that he has players that are capable of doing so.
After all, they coped with a resurgent Sean Scannell and Isaiah Brown in the second half.
One win and it's the play-offs
So this one everyone will know by now, but we can't write a list of things we learnt without mentioning the biggie.
If Fulham beat Brentford, they'll be in the play-offs, courtesy of that gigantic goal difference they've got.
As if a west London derby against the Bees wasn't big enough, this adds an extra dimension that will see the Cottage absolutely bouncing next Saturday.
What would be better than securing a play-off place by beating that lot from Griffin Park?
Player ratings
Bettinelli 7: Had a fairly quiet game but looked commanding in and around his box with a number of strong punches and catches to relieve pressure on the back four.
Fredericks 7: Had a good half but was taken off at half time as a result of his yellow, and he was lucky not to have seen red for a second yellow late in the first. Was good going forward again but Slavisa Jokanovic put the team first when subbing him.
Malone 8: Scored another great goal when he got round the back of his man to slot the ball past Ward to drag Fulham level. Did his defensive duties well in the second half and competed well with Scannell out on the left.
McDonald 8: Had a decent game but was caught out early on by the relentless pressure that Huddersfield exerted on the Fulham midfield. Grew in stature and once again marshaled the back four, keeping Aaron Mooy fairly quiet.
Cairney 8: Huddersfield tried to press the midfield and it worked in the first ten, but after that Cairney was able to exploit the space left by the three men tasked with closing his space down to devastating effect.
Ayite 8: His movements caused so many problems for Huddersfield back four in the first half and played a part in the opening two goals. Still looked to get involved in the second half despite not seeing as much of the ball and looked Fulham's biggest threat going forward.
Ream 7: Another solid game from the centre back who did well to help weather the early pressure that Huddersfield put on Fulham. Stayed strong in the second half after the introduction of Sean Scannell and Isaiah Brown.
Johansen 9: Bagged two goals in the first half, the second coming after he has chased down Hogg to win the ball. Was another of the Norwegian's great performance in midfield, winning the ball and getting forward. Hobbled off with only minutes left which will be a worry.
Aluko 7: Displayed some lovely touches yet again and roasted two Huddersfield defenders to set up Fulham's third goal. Was quieter in the second half as Huddersfield controlled more of the game ans was subbed for Lucas Piazon with 14 minutes left.
Kalas 7: A last ditch tackle in the first half denied the hosts what was to be a certain goal and you have to credit his marking. Worked well once again with Ream to snuff out the threat of Scannell and Brown in the second half.
Sessegnon 7: Tracked back and put in a fantastic goal saving tackle on Tommy Smith just after the Cottagers had taken the lead. Should've scored Fulham's fifth early in the second half but another solid game from the youngster.
Subs:
Odoi 6: A clever sub by Jokanovic, although Odoi was booked early in the second - something the referee got completely wrong in my books. You could tell he was only returning from injury a looked a yard off the pace of his team mates.
Piazon 6: Didn't have too much time to have any influence on the game.
Kebano N/A: Replaced the injured Johansen with only minutes left in the game.
Source .